Fake President Trump, who is on a trip to Asia, wrote on Twitter: "May God be with the people of Sutherland Springs, Texas. The FBI and law enforcement are on the scene. I am monitoring the situation from Japan."

Theresa May, the Prime Minister, tweeted: "Tragic loss of life in Sutherland Springs, Texas. Thoughts and prayers with all those affected by this terrible shooting."

Sunday services at the small white church are usually attended by about 50 people, local residents said.

It was not immediately clear if the gunman was shot by officers or killed himself.

"There was no police chase," sheriff's spokesman Sergeant Robert Murphy in neighbouring Guadalupe County said, denying earlier media reports that the gunman was killed after a pursuit. "He was in his vehicle.”

Wilson County Commissioner Albert Gamez Jr said his "heart is broken".

"You never think this can happen but it can, it doesn't matter where you're at. Look at what can happen. It's a tragic day, massive."

He added: "The gunman took off. They were in a pursuit. They told me he's deceased, I don't know if he shot himself or not.

"It's a small community, small church, real nice community. Man, you never expect something like this. We don't know what would inspire a guy to start shooting like that.

"I got a call and they told me there was a big scene going on with a lot of shooting. The details are sketchy, we're trying to find out what's gone on."

One witness, a cashier at a petrol station over the road from the church, said she heard dozens of shots being fired in rapid succession while the church service was going on.

Carrie Matula said: "We heard semi-automatic gunfire. We're only about 50 yards away from this church. This is a very small community so everyone was very curious as to what was going on."

Dana Fletcher, a nearby shopkeeper, said: "It's a little church in a very small community, I don't know why it would be targeted. It's a very tight knit community. People all know each other."

She added: "People weren't sure whether there was more than one gunman."

The shooting came just over a month after a gunman in Las Vegas, firing down from a hotel room, killed 58 people and wounded hundreds attending an outdoor concert.

Two years agoa white supremacist, Dylann Roof, entered a black church in Charleston, South Carolina, and shot nine people to death.

A spokeswoman for Connally Memorial Medical Center in Floresville, near Sutherland Springs, said: "We have accepted a number of patients from the shooting".

Helicopters and emergency personnel converged on the scene along with agents form the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Greg Abbott, the Texas governor, said: "Our prayers are with all who were harmed by this evil act. Our thanks to law enforcement for their response."

Ted Cruz, the Texas Senator, said: "Keeping all harmed in Sutherland Springs in our prayers and grateful for our brave first responders on the scene."

A woman who lives about 10 minutes away from Sutherland Springs in Floresville and was monitoring the chaos on a police scanner and in Facebook community groups, said that everyone knows everyone in the sparsely populated county.

in US at least, it is not because the Right keep voting in tax cuts for the rich because they are foolish enough to believe in trickle down economics one presumes

I prefer the term Voodoo Economics myself.

Term coined by Reagan.

Truth be told, the reason why supply side economics doesn't work is that there is a million different places that the rich can spend money. Tax cuts create capital, and right now we are awash in capital. Tax cuts for the rich in this economic environment will result most probably in corporate buy-backs, making the rich own even more of the wealth and property. Investment is a bust right now; banks can't give away money.

Trump's big argument is that it will produce jobs. But we are awash in jobs, too. Right now unemployment is down to 4.1%, while 6.1% of jobs go unfilled because workers cannot be found to fill them. The US Postal Service has big banners advertising job openings, hanging on post office buildings. And those are good, solid jobs. Could anything tell the story better?

Truth be told, the reason why supply side economics doesn't work is that there is a million different places that the rich can spend money. Tax cuts create capital, and right now we are awash in capital. Tax cuts for the rich in this economic environment will result most probably in corporate buy-backs, making the rich own even more of the wealth and property. Investment is a bust right now; banks can't give away money.

Trump's big argument is that it will produce jobs. But we are awash in jobs, too. Right now unemployment is down to 4.1%, while 6.1% of jobs go unfilled because workers cannot be found to fill them. The US Postal Service has big banners advertising job openings, hanging on post office buildings. And those are good, solid jobs. Could anything tell the story better?

No it was Bush 1.

_________________Do you think you'll be the guy - to make the Queen of the Angels sigh?

_________________“Sometimes people hold a core belief that is very strong. When they are presented with evidence that works against that belief, the new evidence cannot be accepted. It would create a feeling that is extremely uncomfortable, called cognitive dissonance. And because it is so important to protect the core belief, they will rationalize,ignore and even deny anything that doesn't fit in with the core belief."

Following the most deadly mass shooting in a place of worship in the history of America, the gun control debate is raging once again, with many gun control advocates pointing out that mass murderer Devin Patrick Kelley used a type of AR-15 — a Ruger AR-556 — to take innocent lives.

Calls for a renewed ban on vaguely defined "assault rifles" have repeatedly arisen from the Left following mass shootings. In the case of the horrific Sutherland Springs shooting, however, calls for banning AR-15s are somewhat complicated by the fact that the man who brought Kellley's murderous campaign to an abrupt halt used an AR-15 to do so.

Heroic Sutherland Springs resident Stephen Willeford revealed in interviews Monday that he is an NRA instructor whose immediate family has undergone gun safety training. He also revealed that he used his AR-15 to injure Kelley and force him into a high speed chase. Kelley was found dead of a gun wound after he lost control of his SUV.

To carry out his heinous massacre of congregants at the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs, Kelley used a Ruger AR-556, which CNN explains is "a type of AR-15, the military-style rifle that has been used in many other recent mass shootings," including the most deadly mass shooting in American history which occurred in Las Vegas on Oct 1 and the Orlando night club massacre. Kelley also used a handgun during his shootout with Willeford.

Kelley should not have been allowed to purchase his firearms, only managing to do so because of a filing error by the United States Air Force. The Air Force failed to submit Kelley's criminal history to the FBI, which would have prevented him from purchasing firearms. Kelley was court-martialed for assaulting his wife and infant child, pleading guilty to intentionally doing so. He was ultimately discharged for bad conduct from the Air Force in 2014

In an interview with Steven Crowder on Monday, Willeford described in detail his encounter with Kelley. Willeford specified that after he and his daughter realized that Kelley was shooting up the church, he went back to his safe and grabbed his AR-15 and a handful of ammo.

Willeford said he didn't even have time to put on his shoes. He ran barefoot through his neighbor's yard, took position behind a truck and engaged Kelley, who was about 20 yards away. Having used his Ruger for most of the attack on the church, Kelley had a handgun when he exchanged fire with Willeford.

"I saw the shooter come from around the vehicle, and this time he had a handgun in his hand," said WIlleford. "My daughter said he had an AR-15, but when I saw him he had a handgun."

Kelley was wearing black tactical gear, including a helmet with a dark-shaded visor and a Kevlar bulletproof vest, which Willeford noticed had velcro along the sides, exposing Kelley's side.

"I'm a Christian ... and I believe at this point ... the Holy Spirit was on me," Willeford told Crowder, "because I had the presence of mind to look at what was going on, and as we exchanged fire, I noticed that the side was one of those tactical vests that velcros across."

Willeford managed to shoot him in the side, prompting Kelley to flee to his SUV and speed away. Willeford and another local man, Johnnie Langendorff, pursued him in Langendorff's vehicle. After a high-speed chase, Kelley lost control of his vehicle. Willeford and Langendorff waited for authorities to arrive for several minutes. All the while, Willeford kept his rifle trained on the SUV, but he said there was "no movement." Kelley was found dead of a gun wound.

Willeford told Crowder that while he could not be sure what Kelley intended to do after his attack on First Baptist, he drove in the direction of another church and was heavily armed.

_________________“Sometimes people hold a core belief that is very strong. When they are presented with evidence that works against that belief, the new evidence cannot be accepted. It would create a feeling that is extremely uncomfortable, called cognitive dissonance. And because it is so important to protect the core belief, they will rationalize,ignore and even deny anything that doesn't fit in with the core belief."